“You Speak Very Good Chinese,” NDRC Chairman Tells Female Australian Reporter [UPDATE]

“You Speak Very Good Chinese,” NDRC Chairman Tells Female Australian Reporter
Turns out, nope -- at least in terms of content. But on Saturday afternoon, one reporter attracted an equal amount of attention at an 18th Party Congress press conference. She stood up, took the mic, and asked a nearly minute-long question in Mandarin, and then wryly said, "I'll translate for myself." A few chuckles came out of the erstwhile catatonic crowd.

Want To Be The Next Big Laowai In China? Global Times Is Here To Help [UPDATE]

Global Times next big laowai featured image
Want to be like the fellas above? The Global Times has launched a "Tongue Twister Contest for Foreigners," co-organized by Commercial Press and Chinese Universe. Those of foreign nationality are asked to submit videos of yourself saying Chinese tongue-twisters, which will then be judged from December 1 to 20. The top 20 will be selected for a "final vote," where "language experts" weigh in. The deadline to submit is November 30.

Foreigner Gets Ass Kicked After Chinese Security Guard Understands The English Words “Fuck You”

Laowai Comics - taxi
Here’s another reminder that being a flagrant asshole to others can have consequences. A foreigner recently got the crap kicked out of him by security guards after he said “fuck you” to one of them in English. According to The Nanfang (via Southern Metropolis Daily), the incident happened last Friday in Tianhe District in Guangzhou when a... Read more »

An Expat Meltdown For The Ages: Dongguan Bar Owner Tees Off On The Nanfang After Tepid Review

One for the Road
Longtime China resident Cam MacMurchy, who ran the well-respected Zhongnanhai blog for several years before co-founding The Nanfang earlier this year, is nothing if not a reasonable and fair writer. We’ve watched from afar as The Nanfang, a community-driven website covering the Pearl River Delta, has steadily grown, expanding its listings every week while continuing to produce interesting... Read more »

Which Is The Worser Gangnam Style Parody, China Style Or Laowai Style?

Laowai Style vs China Style featured image
You might have missed this, but Gangnam Style is pretty popular worldwide, including China. It is also unpopular worldwide, including China. That makes it an online sensation, and as such, it has spawned countless parodies, and at least one incredibly epic rant. Some parodies are better than others -- and some are parodies of themselves. Here are two of the worse.

Former Ambassador To China Jon Huntsman Once Got The English-Teaching Laowai Treatment, Had Visa Cancelled [UPDATE]

Huntsman rides a bike in Beijing
Jon Huntsman, the one-time presidential hopeful and former US ambassador to China, has probably said more sensible things about China to more Americans in the last year than just about anyone in the world. It was only earlier this year, after all, that he trashed his own party’s approach to China, saying, “I don’t know what... Read more »

Foreigners In Shanghai Bar Seize Five-Year-Old From Her Aunt, Thinking She Was Trying To Sell Them Sex

Tina and David, Hanna-Oliver
Misunderstandings happen, we get that, but most of the time they’re harmless and can be waved off with a smile and a chuckle. Yet every occasionally, there’s this… here’s the lead from a Shanghai Daily article this morning: Local police yesterday refuted widespread rumors suggesting that a five-year-old girl was forced to sell sex to foreigners after... Read more »